This disclosure relates to a fuel cell power plant, and more particularly, the disclosure relates to an arrangement that is useful during a fuel cell shut-down.
A fuel cell power plant includes a cell stack assembly that generates electricity in response to a chemical reaction. A fuel and a reactant, such as hydrogen and air, are respectively supplied to an anode and a cathode of the cell stack assembly.
A hydrogen-fuel cell stack assembly will have saturated water vapor in its reactant inlet and outlet lines after the power plant has been shut-down. The water vapor is in the air and is also produced in the chemical reaction in the cell stack assembly. If the power plant cools down in an ambient environment that has a temperature below freezing, then the reactant lines and components attached to those lines may act as a heat sink to the cell stack assembly. If these components cool faster than the cell stack assembly, then saturated vapor, originating in the cell stack assembly, will diffuse and condense on the attached components and lines and freeze. This freezing can cause items to malfunction on a subsequent start-up because any moveable elements may have become stuck.
What is needed is an arrangement that prevents components from malfunctioning after a shut-down procedure due to condensing water vapor.